The Outspoken Cyclist – 6/21/2014

Happy Solstice All! Why don’t you stay up late and listen to the show!?

This week saw reports of an almost unprecedented number of bicycle fatalities from coast to coast and from north to south. The admonition “be careful out there” is taking on a whole new meaning in light of these incidents and I decided to go outside my usual purview to look at the Roanoke, Virginia area – which had a triple whammy of fatal bike crashes back in March – from the perspective of an active cyclist who also happens to write for the Roanoke Times on these matters.

Dan Casey is the Metro Columnist for the Roanoke Times in Roanoke, VA and a 20+ year veteran cyclist. Dan puts an up-close and human spin to three fatal bike crashes that occurred in March in Roanoke as well as an update on a rider who is recovering from a recent and scary crash while on a long-distance training ride. We’ll also learn how Roanoke is starting to address the car-bike situation with their annual “Rally for Road Safety” events.

I also welcome Bicycle Retailer and Industry Newsweb editor Steve Frothingham back to the show for a chat about how bicycle-media embargoes work and how the timing of new product introductions are handled by the media as well as a frank discussion about the changing environment for bicycle dealers in an ever more competitive environment.